11
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. Conflict is defined as:
A. any event where two parties demonstrate their dislike of each other.
B. any occasion where both parties perceive each other as a threat to achieving the other party's goals. C.a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by
another party.
D. any event where one party acts in a way that prevents another party from achieving its goals. E. a process in which each party tries to learn the resistance point of the other party.
2. The process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party is called:
A. politics B. conflict C. negotiation D. dialogue
E. negative delusion
3. The current perspective on organizational conflict is that: A. conflict should be minimized.
B. conflict is the result of poor communication
C. conflict is an inevitable result of increased technology and globalization. D. All of the above are correct.
E. moderate levels of conflict are necessary and produce favourable outcomes. 4. Which of the following is NOT a benefit of moderate conflict in organizations?
A. It prevents stagnation and nonresponsiveness to the external environment. B. It improves decision making.
C. Conflict with people outside the team can potentially increase cohesion with the team. D. It energizes people to debate issues more thoroughly.
E .
It helps regenerate employee ranks, since those who cannot manage conflict effectively tend to leave the organization and are replaced with more effective staff.
5. Constructive conflict exists:
A. when the conflict is viewed as a personal attack on each person in the relationship. B. when an employee disagrees with, and loses respect for, his or her supervisor. C. when the conflict is emotionally charged.
D. when all of these exist. E. when none of these exists.
6. According to the literature on organizational conflict, constructive conflict: A. is a positive form of conflict in organizations.
B. is one of the most common outcomes of conflict.
C. is the only conflict management style that has high assertiveness and low cooperativeness. D. is the main source of conflict in organizations.
E. should never be used as a conflict management strategy. 7. Constructive conflict:
A. is the same as relationship conflict.
B. encourages people to think about different points of view. C. is a source of conflict based on the physical layout of the office. D. is the main source of groupthink and denial of external problems. E. is none of these.
8. Constructive conflict:
A. is the opposite of task-related conflict.
B.encourages participants to re-examine their basic assumptions about a problem and its possible solution.
C. is one of the dysfunctional outcomes of conflict. D. is the most common outcome of arbitration.
E. sometimes replaces manifest conflict in the conflict process.
9. A large computer company was well known for the frequent debate among employees regarding various issues. Employees weren't afraid to disagree with their colleagues and to clearly argue their point. Although the discussions would sometimes get loud, employees never spoke angrily at each other and the discussants would always end the meeting in friendship. This computer company has many instances of:
A. constructive conflict B. debating conflict
C. avoiding conflict management style D. relationship conflict
E. positional conflict
10. Which of the following best describes relationship conflict?
A. One party perceives that another party might oppose its interests.
B. The conflict is between two individuals rather than departments or organizations.
C. The conflict episodes are viewed as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem. D. Two people adopt a win-win rather than a win-lose orientation.
E. None of these describes relationship conflict. 11. The two main forms of conflict are:
A. structural and personal B. constructive and relationship C. pooled and sequential
D. problem-solving and forcing E. superordinate and supraordinate
12. Relationship conflict usually causes people to: A. use logical analysis to resolve the conflict.
B. reduce communication and information sharing with the other party.
C. rethink their assumptions and beliefs about the issue that is the source of conflict. D. do all of these things.
E. do none of these things.
13. To be more effective, managers should:
A. try to increase the amount of conflict among employees.
B. successfully remove conflict from the organization, because it saps productivity.
C.remove manifest conflict as well as negative conflict outcomes even though the sources of conflict remain in place.
D. convince employees that conflict should be avoided.
E. encourage constructive conflict for better decision making and minimize relationship conflict. 14. Emotional intelligence and team cohesiveness are two ways to:
A. minimize constructive conflict
B. engage in third-party conflict resolution C. increase relationship conflict
D. minimize relationship conflict
15. Constructive conflict is less likely to turn into relationship conflict when team members: A. learn how to argue more forcefully with each other.
B. have higher emotional intelligence. C. have high differentiation.
D. have competitive team norms.
E. use a forcing style of conflict resolution. 16. The conflict escalation cycle:
A. rarely occurs in organizational settings.
B. helps employees to move from socioemotional to constructive conflict. C. helps the conflicting parties to remove the sources of conflict.
D.includes the situation where behaviours during manifest conflict communicate the perception of conflict to the other party.
E. is all of these.
17. The conflict process begins:
A. when one party intends to interfere with the other's goals.
B. when one party does something that actually interferes with the other party's goals.
C. after the first party does something that causes the second party to take a similar hostile action. D. when some source of conflict lead one or both parties to perceive that conflict exists.
E. when both parties are informed by a third party that they have a potential conflict. 18. In the conflict process, what immediately precedes conflict outcomes?
A. Manifest conflict B. Conflict emotions C. Sources of conflict D. Conflict perceptions
E. Both conflict emotions and perceptions immediately precede conflict outcomes 19. In the conflict process, what immediately follows conflict perceptions and emotions?
A. Sources of conflict B. Manifest conflict C. Conflict outcomes D. Conflict management
E.Both conflict outcomes and conflict management immediately follow conflict perceptions and emotions
20. Which of the following is NOT explicitly labeled in the conflict process model? A. Manifest conflict
B. Conflict perceptions C. Conflict emotions D. Conflict sources E. Conflict tolerance
21. The conflict process model includes: A. conflict outcomes.
B. sources of conflict. C. conflict emotions.
D. conflict outcomes and conflict emotions, but not sources of conflict. E. conflict outcomes, conflict emotions, and sources of conflict.
22. Salespeople at Widget Ltd. complain that they lose sales bonuses when the production department is out of stock of a particular item. This sometimes causes customers to buy elsewhere rather than wait for the next production run. Meanwhile, production employees complain that salespeople don't appreciate the need to minimize inventory costs, for which production staff are rewarded. This is mainly an example of conflict due to:
A. ambiguity
B. communication problems C. pooled task interdependence D. differentiation
E. goal incompatibility
23. Which of the following statements about the structural sources of conflict in organizations is FALSE? A. Members of the organization are the ultimately the source of all conflicts in organizations.
B. Poor communication can be a source of conflict. C. Scarce resources is a condition that can cause conflict. D. Decision ambiguity can increase the potential for conflict.
E. Conflict tends to increase with high levels of task interdependence 24. Ambiguous rules, scarce resources and task interdependence are:
A. structural sources of potential conflict
B. strategies used in the inquisition approach to third-party conflict resolution C. interpersonal sources of potential conflict.
D. indicators of effectiveness in third-party conflict resolution E. situational influences on negotiations
25. Incompatible goals, differentiation and ambiguous rules are: A. indicators of effectiveness in third-party conflict resolution. B. situational influences on negotiations.
C. sources of potential conflict.
D. strategies used in the inquisition approach to third-party conflict resolution. E. none of these.
26. Which of the following sources of conflict is typically associated with mergers and acquisitions? A. Task interdependence
B. Differentiation C. Goal incompatibility D. Scarce resources E. Ambiguity
27. Which of the following most likely produces the highest risk of conflict? A. Ambiguous rules and low task interdependence.
B. Precise rules and resource scarcity.
C. Plentiful resources and high goal compatibility. D. Scarce resources and high task interdependence. E. None of these has any effect on the risk of conflict.
28. Employees in engineering and marketing often disagree with each other, mainly because they hold divergent beliefs and attitudes due to their unique backgrounds, experiences, and training. The most apparent source of conflict here is:
A. task interdependence. B. differentiation. C. goal incompatibility. D. scarce resources. E. ambiguity.
29. GlobalCo formed a task force consisting of eight employees from four culturally diverse countries who have not previously met. The task force must work closely together for a month to solve a troublesome customer problem. These employees have similar technical training, but they have different religious beliefs, different languages, and different standards of living. If these employees experience conflict, this conflict might be caused by:
A. task interdependence. B. differentiation.
C. communication problems. D. all of these factors.
E. differentiation and communication problems, but not task interdependence
30. Two departmental managers are most likely to experience conflict with each other when they _____________ communicate with each other and their two departments have _____________ interdependence.
A. frequently; high B. seldom; low C. seldom; high D. frequently; low
E. Communication and interdependence do not affect conflict between departments. 31. The potential for conflict between two employees would be highest under conditions of:
A. pooled interdependence B. total independence
C. reciprocal interdependence D. anticipatory interdependence E. sequential interdependence
32. In organizational conflict, scarce resources are typically identified as: A. a source of conflict
B. a form of task interdependence
C. a third-party conflict resolution strategy D. a form of differentiation
E. scarce resources are unrelated to any part of organizational conflict 33. Communication is a potential source of conflict because:
A. communication leads to misunderstanding.
B. ineffective communication often leads to an escalation in the conflict cycle. C. perceptions of conflict reduce a person's motivation to communicate in the future. D. All of the above.
E. ‘B' and ‘C' only.
34. A win-win orientation exists when a person or team believes that:
A. one party necessarily loses if the other gains, so a forcing style should be applied.
B.a combination of all interpersonal styles of conflict management must be applied to reach a mutually beneficial solution.
C. a mutually beneficial solution may be found if both parties apply a collaborative orientation. D. both parties must apply a yielding interpersonal style to resolve the conflict effectively. E. None of these statements apply to a win-win orientation.
35. Which of the following interpersonal conflict management styles has some degree of win-lose orientation?
A. Forcing B. Yielding C. Avoiding
D. All of these have some degree of win-lose orientation. E. None of these has any degree of win-lose orientation.
36. The problem-solving interpersonal style of conflict has: A. high assertiveness and low cooperativeness
B. high assertiveness and high cooperativeness C. low assertiveness and high cooperativeness D. low assertiveness and low cooperativeness
E. medium assertiveness and medium cooperativeness
37. Which of the following interpersonal conflict management styles has mostly or completely a win-win orientation?
A. Forcing B. Yielding
C. Problem-solving D. Avoiding
E. Both yielding and problem solving have mostly or completely a win-win orientation. 38. Which conflict management style has low cooperativeness and low assertiveness?
A. Forcing B. Inquisition C. Compromising D. Arbitration E. Avoiding
39. Conflict management styles are defined in terms of their: A. consequences for the organization.
B. arbitrariness and firmness.
C. assertiveness and cooperativeness. D. differentiation and interdependence. E. animosity and tolerance.
40. Compared to those with an individualist value, employees with a strong collectivist values tend to manage disagreements through:
A. forcing.
B. third-party conflict resolution. C. arbitration.
D. avoidance or problem solving. E. compromising and forcing.
41. According to some writers, women tend to adopt the _____________ style, whereas men are more likely to use the _____________ style.
A. forcing; collaborative B. avoiding; compromising C. yielding; forcing
D. compromising; forcing E. yielding; avoiding
42. Which conflict management style is most appropriate when the parties do not have perfectly opposing interests and have enough trust to share information?
A. Forcing B. Yielding C. Avoiding
D. Problem-solving E. Compromising
43. Which conflict management style may be necessary when it is apparent that the other party will take advantage of information sharing and other cooperative strategies?
A. Forcing
B. Passive-aggressive C. Avoiding
D. Problem-solving E. Compromising
44. The yielding conflict management style should be used: A. never.
B. when the issue is much less important to you than to the other party. C. when the other party has much less power than you do.
D. when the issue is important to both parties. E. under almost all circumstances.
45. Which of the following actions does NOT emphasize superordinate goals to reduce conflict? A. Representatives from the two departments must jointly visit a client to hear about its concerns. B. Hiring employees with a technical specialty and developing their career paths within that specialty. C. Keeping all employees informed of the company's successes and difficulties in the marketplace. D. Introducing profit sharing or other organizationally based rewards for all employees.
E.The CEO speaks with employees from several departments together about current challenges from competitors.
46. Maintenance employees and drivers at ABC Bus Company were constantly bickering with each other. However, the conflict subsided when another bus company opened for business to compete with ABC and ABC executives warned employees that the competitor could force lay-offs at ABC if productivity and customer service didn't improve. Which of the following conflict management strategies was operating here?
A. The company clarified rules and procedures.
B. The company reduced interdependence between the parties. C. The company reduced differentiation between the parties. D. The company introduced superordinate goals for both parties. E. The company helped the parties to understand each other better.
47. Which of the following actions does NOT reduce conflict between employees and work teams? A. Reducing the amount of task interdependence.
B. Increasing the resources available.
C. Clarifying the responsibilities and authority of each employee.
D. Encouraging employees to emphasize departmental rather than organizational goals. E. Requiring employees to learn more about each other in special sessions.
48. Direct communication minimizes conflict by: A. reducing task interdependence.
B. reducing reliance on stereotypes about the other party. C. improving understanding of the other party's circumstances. D. doing all of these things.
E. reducing reliance on stereotypes AND improving understanding of the other party's circumstances. 49. Improving communication and understanding should occur:
A. only after differentiation between the two sides has been reduced. B. before differentiation between the two sides has been reduced.
C. only when the conflicting parties use the compromising conflict resolution style. D. when task interdependence is low.
50. According to your text, compared to those with individualist cultures, employees in collectivist and high power distance cultures tend to be:
A. more comfortable with the practice of resolving differences through direct and open communication. B. less comfortable with the practice of resolving differences through direct and open communication. C. no more comfortable or uncomfortable with any particular practice of resolving differences.
D. All of the above are correct.
E. there is no evidence to support a cultural dimension with respect to any differences.
51. A major game software firm experienced conflict between the young Internet-savvy employees who designed the games and the older computer-illiterate executives who ran the company. The company hired coordinators who could work with the executives but were computer literate and therefore respected by the development staff members. By hiring these coordinators as liaisons between the executives and employees, the company would:
A. increase conflict between developers and executives by reducing communication. B. reduce conflict by clarifying rules and procedures.
C. increase conflict by increasing task interdependence. D. reduce conflict by creating superordinate goals. E. reduce conflict by using integrators.
52. Increasing inventories between sequential work units tends to reduce potential conflict by: A. reducing resource scarcity
B. reducing differentiation
C. increasing the required level of communication between employees in sequential units D. reducing ambiguity in resource allocation
E. creating a buffer that decouples the relationship between work units 53. Combining two jobs to reduce conflict is a:
A. way to reduce task interdependence. B. form of job enrichment.
C. strategy of avoidance. D. downsizing strategy E. ‘A' and ‘B' only.
54. Which of the following is a third-party conflict resolution strategy with high process control and high outcome control?
A. Inquisition B. Arbitration C. Mediation D. Imposition
E. All third-party conflict resolution strategies have high process and outcome control 55. Third-party interventions are defined in terms of their:
A. arbitrariness and firmness.
B. level of process control and level of decision control. C. assertiveness and cooperativeness.
D. differentiation and interdependence E. consequences for the organization.
56. Which of the following is a third-party conflict resolution strategy with low process control and low outcome control?
A. Inquisition B. Arbitration C. Mediation
D. All of these have low process control and low outcome control. E. None of these has low process control and low outcome control.
57. Which third-party conflict resolution strategy manages the process and context of interaction between the disputing parties but does not impose a solution on the parties?
A. Inquisition B. Arbitration C. Mediation D. All of these E. None of these
58. Managers tend to rely on which of the following types of third-party intervention? A. Inquisitor
B. Competitor C. Mediator D. Arbitrator E. Dictatorial
59. A Dean tells a faculty member, "I don't care what the collective agreement states about your right to negotiate a workload with me, I'm the Dean, and I make the decisions about who is assigned what work and how much." According to your text, this is an example of which approach for resolving conflict? A. Managerial.
B. Inquisition. C. Confrontational. D. Fuedal.
E. Imperious.
60. Two team members who disagree over their work schedule approach their team leader to help resolve the conflict. Based on your knowledge of third-party conflict resolution, to avoid feelings of unfairness by the team member, the team leader should:
A .
help the employees resolve their own conflict, with the team leader serving as a mediator to help them clarify their differences and common interests in the dispute.
B. ask the employees to avoid the conflict and move on.
C. tell each employee to present a solution, then the team leader would randomly choose one of them. D. refuse to allow the conflict and ignore both employees.
E.tell the employees that their personal leave has been cancelled this year because they couldn't agree on such a trivial issue.
61. For everyday disputes between two employees, managers should use _____________ as a third-party intervention: A. inquisition B. mediation C. arbitration D. retaliation E. negotiation
62. If the parties cannot resolve their differences through direct dialogue and negotiation, the process that seems to work best is to:
A. go to court seeking damages. B. arbitrate the dispute.
C. involve a mediator. D. rely on inquisition. E. try to bury the problem.
63. The bargaining zone model states that:
A. the physical space around the negotiations affects the negotiation outcome.
B. the negotiation process moves each party along a continuum with an area of potential overlap. C. the best negotiations occur in a neutral territory.
D.negotiators must try to move the other party from a win-lose orientation towards a win-win orientation.
64. The bargaining zone model illustrates: A. the best zoning for negotiations.
B. the conditions under which the other party will hold out for a better offer. C. the various bargaining positions between the parties.
D. all of these. E. none of these.
65. Initial, target, and resistance represent three elements in: A. the conflict process model.
B. the bargaining zone model.
C. the types of third-party conflict resolution. D. the sources of conflict.
E. the conflict escalation cycle.
66. Negotiators implicitly or explicitly consider three bargaining positions, including: A. win-win, win-lose, lose-lose
B. resistance, concessions, time C. win-win, timely, target D. initial, concessions, final E. initial, target, resistance
67. In a purely win-lose situation, the bargaining zone states that the opposing parties: A. usually apply a collaborative approach to resolving their differences.
B. begin negotiations by describing their resistance point for each item on the agenda. C. rarely know each other's initial point.
D. tend to move from their target point to their initial point very quickly.
E.try to discover the other side's resistance point so they can determine how much they can gain without breaking off negotiations.
68. Creating value in negotiations involves:
A. trying to obtain the best possible outcome for yourself and your constituents.
B.minimizing the time required to reach a settlement so that all parties can get back to doing productive work.
C. cooperating to help both negotiators obtain the best possible outcomes. D. reducing the costs associated with bargaining to maximize value. E. try to inflate positive aspects of what you are offering the other party.
69. Which of the following statements about time deadlines and passage in negotiations is FALSE?
A.Negotiators with more power in the relationship sometimes apply time pressure through an "exploding offer."
B. Negotiators become less committed to reaching an agreement as they devote more time to it. C. Negotiators make more concessions as the negotiations approach an inflexible deadline. D
.
As negotiators become more committed to reaching an agreement the tendency to make unwarranted concessions to ensure negotiations do not fail increases.
E.As the amount of time invested in a negotiation increases, negotiators tend to become more motivated to settle the negotiations.
70. Which of the following tends to make negotiators more competitive and less willing to give concessions? A. Representatives from both sides are interspersed around a circular table.
B. The parties spend time socializing and learning about each other before beginning negotiations. C. The audiences of each party directly observe the negotiations.
D. All of these tend to make negotiators more competitive and less willing to give concessions. E. None of these tend to make negotiators more competitive and less willing to give concessions.
71. You have a high BATNA when:
A. your estimated cost of walking away from the relationship is high. B. your estimated cost of walking away from the relationship is low. C. you have a no concerns about losing face.
D. you have a high need to save face. E. None of these statements are correct.
72. When negotiators have an audience watching their progress in the negotiations, the audience's negotiator:
A. is more likely to give in to the other party's demands. B. pays more attention to saving face.
C. tends to feel more cooperative towards the other party.
D. tends to be more willing to make concessions to the other party.
E. tends to feel more cooperative AND are more willing to make concessions to the other party. 73. Negotiators tend to be more successful when:
A. they carefully think through their three key positions in the bargaining zone model. B. they ask probing questions and listen intently to the answers.
C. they tell the other party how lucky the other party is to have such a generous deal. D. they do all of these things.
E. "A" and "B' only. 74. Effective negotiators:
A. prepare and set negotiation goals for themselves B. talk more than listen
C. rarely make any concessions D. do all of these things.
E. set negotiation goals for themselves AND rarely make any concessions. 75. Which of the following is a skill to effectively create value in negotiations?
A. Know your BATNA. B. Manage your time wisely. C. Prepare and set goals. D. All of the above.
E. None of the above creating value in negotiations.
76. All of the following are ways that skilled negotiators can reap the benefits of value creation in negotiations EXCEPT by:
A. gathering information.
B. discovering priorities through offers and concessions. C. building relationships.
D. stalling for more time to evaluate proposals more fully.
E. All of the above are ways to reap the benefits of value creation. 77. What effect does making concessions have on negotiations?
A. Concessions enable the parties to move towards the area of potential agreement. B. Concessions symbolize each party's motivation to bargain in good faith.
C. Concessions communicate to the other party the relative importance of negotiating items. D. Concessions have all of these effects on negotiations.
E. Concessions have none of these effects on negotiations.
78. Conflict begins whenever both parties realize that they have opposing interests. True False
79. Conflict occurs when one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.
80. Conflict begins when two parties experience manifest conflict. True False
81. Conflict perceptions and emotions lead to conflict sources. True False
82. The view that all conflict in organizations is bad is over simplistic and incorrect. True False
83. In one survey more than 50 percent of employees in Germany complained that conflict was consuming their workday.
True False
84. It wasn't until the 1950s that conflict management experts such as Elton Mayo began to embrace the "optimal conflict" perspective.
True False
85. Moderate levels of conflict produce improved decision-making. True False
86. If conflict was eliminated, organizations would be more productive. True False
87. The modern perspective on conflict is that an optimal level exist which is beneficial to the organization.
True False
88. Deconstructive conflict is one of the more serious forms of relationship conflict. True False
89. Constructive conflict helps people to recognize problems, identify a variety of solutions and better understand the issues involved.
True False
90. Constructive conflict is also called task-related conflict. True False
91. Relationship conflict refers to conflict between individuals, whereas constructive conflict refers to conflict between departments and organizations.
True False
92. When people experience relationship conflict, they tend to increase their reliance on communication with the other party.
True False
93. Relationship conflict is also known as psychoemotional conflict. True False
94. Most people can avoid experiencing relationship conflict if they focus on constructive debate instead. True False
95. Although constructive conflict can degenerate into relationship conflict, it is easy to prevent this from happening.
True False
96. Most of us experience some degree of relationship conflict whenever we are engaged in constructive debate.
97. The more an issue is tied to our self-concept the higher the chances that constructive conflict will degenerated into relationship conflict.
True False
98. Emotional intelligence helps employees to avoid transforming constructive conflict into relationship conflict.
True False
99. Constructive conflict is more likely to escalate into relationship conflict among employees in highly cohesive teams
True False
100.Some team norms encourage tactics that diffuse relationship conflict when it first appears. True False
101.Conflict is sometimes apparent by the style each side uses to resolve the conflict. True False
102.Two employees with incompatible goals are less likely to experience conflict. True False
103.The conflict process is really a series of episodes that potentially cycle into conflict escalation. True False
104.Two employees from different departments who are evaluated on different performance criteria and receive different reward systems are likely to experience conflict due to goal incompatibility. True False
105.Mergers and acquisitions tend to increase conflict due to different values and beliefs. True False
106.The poor work ethic of Generation-X employees is one of the main sources of conflict in work organizations.
True False
107.It is possible to agree on a common goal yet still experience conflict due to differentiation. True False
108.Conflict is more likely to occur between two departments with pooled interdependence than reciprocal interdependence.
True False
109.Conflict is more likely to occur when two people or departments share a resource that is strictly dictated by programmed decision rules.
True False
110.Conflict may occur because the conflicting parties lack the opportunity, ability and/or motivation to communicate with each other.
True False
111.Poor communication skills partly explain why conflict occurs in the workplace. True False
112.Conflict tends to escalate more with a win-lose than with a win-win orientation. True False
113.The problem-solving conflict management style involves a high degree of assertiveness and cooperativeness.
114.The five interpersonal conflict management styles are distinguished by their level of animosity with the other party.
True False
115.The compromising conflict management style has the highest win-win orientation and should be applied wherever the parties seem to have mutual interests.
True False
116.Avoiding is usually the best interpersonal conflict management style when the issue is trivial to everyone involved.
True False
117.Although forcing is one of five interpersonal styles of conflict management, it should never be used to manage conflict.
True False
118.The yielding conflict management style is preferred when both parties have equal power and enough trust to share information.
True False
119.A person's preferred conflict management style tends to depend partly on the individual's cultural values.
True False
120.People from high collectivism cultures tend to apply a forcing style of conflict with colleagues more than do people from low collectivism cultures.
True False
121.The yielding conflict management style can produce more conflict rather than it resolves it. True False
122.Gender has a weak influence on conflict management style. True False
123.Focusing employees on superordinate goals is particularly useful where conflict is caused by goal incompatibility and differentiation.
True False
124.A logical strategy for minimizing conflict due to different values and beliefs is to have employees move through different departments, regions and occupations of the company throughout their careers.
True False
125.Reducing conflict by reducing differentiation should occur only after communication and understanding have improved.
True False
126.Resolving differences with the opposing party through direct communication is not as comfortably applied in collectivist cultures.
True False
127.Communication and understanding interventions should be applied only after differentiation between the parties has been reduced.
True False
128.Buffers tend to resolve conflict by reducing the level of interdependence between the conflicting parties.
True False
129.Integrators reduce conflicts by reducing the frequency of direct interaction among work units with diverse goals and perspectives.
130.Increasing resources and creating more precise rules for the allocation of those resources represent two ways to increase conflict.
True False
131.Arbitration has a high level of process control but a low level of decision control. True False
132.Mediation has a high level of process control but a low level of decision control. True False
133.Research suggests that managers tend to avoid the inquisitional approach to third-party conflict resolution.
True False
134.The preference for arbitration or mediation in work disputes partly depends on cross-cultural values. True False
135.Managers should arbitrate decisions when employees cannot resolve their differences alone. True False
136.Conflicts can be minimized by negotiating a collective agreement between union and management which both parties must follow.
True False
137.Negotiation occurs whenever two or more conflicting parties try to redefine the terms of their interdependence.
True False
138.The bargaining zone model of negotiations describes the best physical zone in which negotiations should occur.
True False
139.According to the bargaining zone model, the parties should begin negotiations by describing their target points to each other.
True False
140.According to the bargaining zone model, the target point is the team's realistic goal or expectation for a final agreement.
True False
141.Claiming value during negotiations involves trying to obtain the best possible outcome for yourself and your constituents.
True False
142.When negotiators get closer to their time deadline, they have a tendency to make fewer concessions. True False
143.The best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) helps estimate your opponent's power in the negotiations because it represents the estimated cost if you walk away from the relationship.
True False
144.Creating value during the negotiation process involves convincing the other party that reaching an agreement is in their best interest.
True False
145.An important rule in negotiations is to make several major concessions early in the proceedings to communicate your willingness to resolve the conflict.
True False
146.Making concessions symbolizes a negotiator's motivation to bargain in good faith. True False
147.Skilled negotiators tend to adopt a cautious problem-solving style at the outset. True False
148.Negotiating in teams is not advisable because some team members will hear information that should be kept confidential.
True False
149.Negotiators tend to be more competitive and less willing to give concessions when their audience directly observes the negotiations.
True False
150.Negotiators tend to avoid "hardline" behaviours when they know an audience is watching them. True False
151.The president of Creative Toys, Inc. read about cooperation in Japanese companies and has vowed to bring this same philosophy to the company. The goal is to avoid all conflict, so that employees would work cooperatively and be happier at Creative Toys. Discuss the merits and limitations of the president's policy.
152.The newly hired CEO of an advertising agency noticed that employees were constantly arguing and debating with each other over design and ad copy. This cantankerous behaviour was quite different from the more reserved and polite interactions that occurred in the CEO's previous organization in the consumer products industry. To correct this problem, the CEO established a new motto ('Serving Clients in Harmony') and actively discouraged employees from the spirited debates that occurred in the past. Some key staff members left the company over the next few months, saying that the company was losing its creative edge. However, the CEO was able to bring in new employees who were more discreet and subtle in their discussions with colleagues. Discuss the merits of the CEO's actions.
153.Organizational behaviour research is discovering that it is difficult to separate constructive conflict from relationship conflict. However, it is possible to minimize relationship conflict during constructive conflict episodes. Describe two strategies that would help a team of employees to reduce the level of relationship conflict while the team is engaging in constructive conflict. Your answer should also briefly explain why each strategy may be effective.
154.Canuck Airlines International (CAI) is the result of five airlines that merged over six years. These airlines had energetic leaders who established distinct operating procedures and demanded absolute loyalty from their employees. When the airlines merged into CAI, employees continued their allegiance to their former airline by identifying themselves with its colour—blue for Pacific Airlines, orange for Northern Air, green for EastAir, and so on. Coffee break groups began to form around colour codes rather than work groups. Employees who transferred to different work units were routinely asked what colour they came from. In some areas, colour heritage decided a promotion, explained a botch-up, or was offered as a reason why things couldn't change. Discuss this incident in terms of the sources and consequences of conflict in organizational settings.
155.A few years ago, a clothing manufacturer was expanding rapidly, so the CEO hired several executives from large corporations. Unfortunately, the new executives clashed with the current executives regarding business strategy. The CEO explained: 'We ended up with an old team and a new team and they weren't on the same wavelength.' Identify the source(s) of conflict in this situation and identify two strategies to minimize this conflict in the future.
156.Why should leaders of culturally diverse teams be more mindful about which conflict handling style they use?
157.Employees at a specialty steel company are divided into the 'hot end' and the 'cold end' of the production process. The hot end forms the steel rods that make their way down the line to the cold end, where they are packed for shipment to clients. Employees at the cold end are primarily responsible for quality control because they are the last ones to see the product before it leaves the plant. Their performance is measured by an index of customer complaints and returns, so they are motivated to reject any rods that don't meet quality standards. But employees at the hot end of the production line earn bonuses based on their output and rejection rate. The fewer rods rejected by employees at the cold end, the fatter the bonuses of employees at the hot end. This creates conflict between the hot-end and cold-end employees. Hot-end employees complain that their cold-end colleagues are too fussy about product quality. Cold-end employees don't like the hot-Cold-end employees questioning their quality control decisions. Discuss the source(s) of conflict in this situation and recommend a solution to this conflict.
158.Two business units operate out of different buildings in a large city. They offer distinct products to customers and have their own budgets. However, they must share training facilities located at
headquarters, also located in the city. This often creates conflict because both business units tend to want the training facilities at the same time. Describe the source(s) of conflict that are apparent in this situation and describe two potential solutions that would minimize this conflict.
159.NewTel is a telephone company with a policy of filling positions through promotions rather than hiring from outside. Until recently, the company had a strong engineering focus and tended to promote people into senior executive positions from the engineering areas. Consequently, almost all of the company's 14 senior executives joined the company over 20 years ago in junior engineering positions. There is increasing pressure on NewTel to become more marketing and service oriented, so four people were hired one year ago from consumer products and retail firms to fill new senior executive positions in marketing and service management. The external hires were necessary because employees were not sufficiently qualified. Now there are signs of tension among senior executives, particularly during budget deliberations where there is limited discretionary spending on new corporate activities. The four new hires have been frustrated in their attempts to have the company put more money into marketing and customer services instead of technology investment. Explain why conflict has occurred among senior executives at NewTel.
160.Jane has just been appointed as purchasing manager of Tacoma Technologies Corp. The previous purchasing manager, who recently retired, was known for his "winner-take-all" approach to suppliers. He continually fought for more discounts and was skeptical about any special deals that suppliers would propose. A few suppliers refused to do business with Tacoma Technologies, but senior management was confident that the former purchasing manager's approach minimized the company's costs. Jane wants to try a more problem-solving approach to working with suppliers. Contrast Jane's and her predecessor's approach to negotiations in terms of the dimensions of interpersonal conflict management style. Then explain whether Jane's approach will be effective or not.
161.NewTel is a telephone company with a policy of filling positions through promotions rather than hiring from outside. Until recently, the company had a strong engineering focus and tended to promote people into senior executive positions from the engineering areas. Consequently, almost all of the company's 14 senior executives joined the company over 20 years ago in junior engineering positions. There is increasing pressure on NewTel to become more marketing and service oriented, so four people were hired one year ago from consumer products and retail firms to fill new senior executive positions in marketing and service management. The external hires were necessary because employees were not sufficiently qualified. Now there are signs of tension among senior executives, particularly during budget deliberations where there is limited discretionary spending on new corporate activities. The four new hires have been frustrated in their attempts to have the company put more money into marketing and customer services instead of technology investment. What conflict management strategies could be applied at NewTel to minimize dysfunctional conflict among these senior executives?
162.Almost every day, supervisors must help employees resolve conflicts with other employees. Which third-party conflict resolution strategy do supervisors use most often, and why do they tend to prefer this style? Also identify one third-party intervention that managers should apply in everyday disputes and explain why that strategy should be used most often.
163.The union and management teams are under a deadline to conclude negotiations. Discuss two effects that time will have on the negotiation process.
164.Comment on the accuracy of the following statement: 'Negotiators tend to bargain more effectively if they don't make concessions.'
11
Key
1. (p. 298)
Conflict is defined as:
A. any event where two parties demonstrate their dislike of each other.
B. any occasion where both parties perceive each other as a threat to achieving the other party's goals.
C.a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.
D. any event where one party acts in a way that prevents another party from achieving its goals.
E. a process in which each party tries to learn the resistance point of the other party.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #1 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1 2. (p. 298)
The process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party is called:
A. politics B. conflict C. negotiation D. dialogue E. negative delusion Chapter - Chapter 11 #2 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1 3. (p. 299)
The current perspective on organizational conflict is that:
A. conflict should be minimized.
B. conflict is the result of poor communication
C. conflict is an inevitable result of increased technology and globalization.
D. All of the above are correct.
E. moderate levels of conflict are necessary and produce favourable outcomes.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #3 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1 4. (p. 299)
Which of the following is NOT a benefit of moderate conflict in organizations?
A. It prevents stagnation and nonresponsiveness to the external environment.
B. It improves decision making.
C. Conflict with people outside the team can potentially increase cohesion with the team.
D. It energizes people to debate issues more thoroughly.
E .
It helps regenerate employee ranks, since those who cannot manage conflict effectively tend to leave the organization and are replaced with more effective staff.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #4 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1 5. (p. 300)
Constructive conflict exists:
A. when the conflict is viewed as a personal attack on each person in the relationship.
B. when an employee disagrees with, and loses respect for, his or her supervisor.
C. when the conflict is emotionally charged.
D. when all of these exist.
E. when none of these exists.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #5 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
6. (p. 300)
According to the literature on organizational conflict, constructive conflict:
A. is a positive form of conflict in organizations. B. is one of the most common outcomes of conflict.
C. is the only conflict management style that has high assertiveness and low cooperativeness.
D. is the main source of conflict in organizations.
E. should never be used as a conflict management strategy.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #6 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2 7. (p. 300) Constructive conflict:
A. is the same as relationship conflict.
B. encourages people to think about different points of view. C. is a source of conflict based on the physical layout of the office.
D. is the main source of groupthink and denial of external problems.
E. is none of these. Chapter - Chapter 11 #7 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2 8. (p. 300) Constructive conflict:
A. is the opposite of task-related conflict.
B. encourages participants to re-examine their basic assumptions about a problem and its possible
solution.
C. is one of the dysfunctional outcomes of conflict.
D. is the most common outcome of arbitration.
E. sometimes replaces manifest conflict in the conflict process.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #8 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2 9. (p. 300)
A large computer company was well known for the frequent debate among employees regarding various issues. Employees weren't afraid to disagree with their colleagues and to clearly argue their point. Although the discussions would sometimes get loud, employees never spoke angrily at each other and the discussants would always end the meeting in friendship. This computer company has many instances of:
A. constructive conflict B. debating conflict
C. avoiding conflict management style
D. relationship conflict E. positional conflict Chapter - Chapter 11 #9 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2 10. (p. 300)
Which of the following best describes relationship conflict?
A. One party perceives that another party might oppose its interests.
B. The conflict is between two individuals rather than departments or organizations.
C. The conflict episodes are viewed as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem. D. Two people adopt a win-win rather than a win-lose orientation.
E. None of these describes relationship conflict.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #10 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
11. (p. 300)
The two main forms of conflict are:
A. structural and personal
B. constructive and relationship C. pooled and sequential
D. problem-solving and forcing
E. superordinate and supraordinate
Chapter - Chapter 11 #11 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2 12. (p. 300)
Relationship conflict usually causes people to:
A. use logical analysis to resolve the conflict.
B. reduce communication and information sharing with the other party.
C. rethink their assumptions and beliefs about the issue that is the source of conflict.
D. do all of these things.
E. do none of these things.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #12 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2 13. (p. 300-301)
To be more effective, managers should:
A. try to increase the amount of conflict among employees.
B. successfully remove conflict from the organization, because it saps productivity.
C.remove manifest conflict as well as negative conflict outcomes even though the sources of conflict remain in place.
D. convince employees that conflict should be avoided.
E. encourage constructive conflict for better decision making and minimize relationship conflict.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #13 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2 14. (p. 301)
Emotional intelligence and team cohesiveness are two ways to:
A. minimize constructive conflict
B. engage in third-party conflict resolution
C. increase relationship conflict
D. minimize relationship conflict
E. add more cycles to the conflict escalation cycle
Chapter - Chapter 11 #14 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2 15. (p. 301)
Constructive conflict is less likely to turn into relationship conflict when team members:
A. learn how to argue more forcefully with each other.
B. have higher emotional intelligence. C. have high differentiation.
D. have competitive team norms.
E. use a forcing style of conflict resolution.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #15 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
16. (p. 302)
The conflict escalation cycle:
A. rarely occurs in organizational settings.
B. helps employees to move from socioemotional to constructive conflict.
C. helps the conflicting parties to remove the sources of conflict.
D.includes the situation where behaviours during manifest conflict communicate the perception of conflict to the other party.
E. is all of these. Chapter - Chapter 11 #16 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 17. (p. 301)
The conflict process begins:
A. when one party intends to interfere with the other's goals.
B. when one party does something that actually interferes with the other party's goals.
C. after the first party does something that causes the second party to take a similar hostile action.
D. when some source of conflict lead one or both parties to perceive that conflict exists. E. when both parties are informed by a third party that they have a potential conflict.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #17 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 18. (p. 302)
In the conflict process, what immediately precedes conflict outcomes?
A. Manifest conflict B. Conflict emotions
C. Sources of conflict
D. Conflict perceptions
E. Both conflict emotions and perceptions immediately precede conflict outcomes
Chapter - Chapter 11 #18 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 19. (p. 302)
In the conflict process, what immediately follows conflict perceptions and emotions?
A. Sources of conflict
B. Manifest conflict C. Conflict outcomes
D. Conflict management
E. Both conflict outcomes and conflict management immediately follow conflict perceptions and emotions Chapter - Chapter 11 #19 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 20. (p. 302)
Which of the following is NOT explicitly labeled in the conflict process model?
A. Manifest conflict B. Conflict perceptions C. Conflict emotions D. Conflict sources E. Conflict tolerance Chapter - Chapter 11 #20 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
21. (p. 302)
The conflict process model includes:
A. conflict outcomes.
B. sources of conflict.
C. conflict emotions.
D. conflict outcomes and conflict emotions, but not sources of conflict.
E. conflict outcomes, conflict emotions, and sources of conflict.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #21 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 22. (p. 302)
Salespeople at Widget Ltd. complain that they lose sales bonuses when the production department is out of stock of a particular item. This sometimes causes customers to buy elsewhere rather than wait for the next production run. Meanwhile, production employees complain that salespeople don't appreciate the need to minimize inventory costs, for which production staff are rewarded. This is mainly an example of conflict due to:
A. ambiguity
B. communication problems
C. pooled task interdependence
D. differentiation E. goal incompatibility Chapter - Chapter 11 #22 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 23. (p. 302)
Which of the following statements about the structural sources of conflict in organizations is FALSE?
A. Members of the organization are the ultimately the source of all conflicts in organizations. B. Poor communication can be a source of conflict.
C. Scarce resources is a condition that can cause conflict.
D. Decision ambiguity can increase the potential for conflict.
E. Conflict tends to increase with high levels of task interdependence
Chapter - Chapter 11 #23 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 24. (p. 303-305)
Ambiguous rules, scarce resources and task interdependence are:
A. structural sources of potential conflict
B. strategies used in the inquisition approach to third-party conflict resolution
C. interpersonal sources of potential conflict.
D. indicators of effectiveness in third-party conflict resolution
E. situational influences on negotiations
Chapter - Chapter 11 #24 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 25. (p. 302-305)
Incompatible goals, differentiation and ambiguous rules are:
A. indicators of effectiveness in third-party conflict resolution.
B. situational influences on negotiations.
C. sources of potential conflict.
D. strategies used in the inquisition approach to third-party conflict resolution.
E. none of these.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #25 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
26. (p. 303)
Which of the following sources of conflict is typically associated with mergers and acquisitions?
A. Task interdependence B. Differentiation C. Goal incompatibility D. Scarce resources E. Ambiguity Chapter - Chapter 11 #26 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 27. (p. 303-305)
Which of the following most likely produces the highest risk of conflict?
A. Ambiguous rules and low task interdependence.
B. Precise rules and resource scarcity.
C. Plentiful resources and high goal compatibility.
D. Scarce resources and high task interdependence. E. None of these has any effect on the risk of conflict.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #27 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 28. (p. 303)
Employees in engineering and marketing often disagree with each other, mainly because they hold divergent beliefs and attitudes due to their unique backgrounds, experiences, and training. The most apparent source of conflict here is:
A. task interdependence. B. differentiation. C. goal incompatibility. D. scarce resources. E. ambiguity. Chapter - Chapter 11 #28 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 29. (p. 303-305)
GlobalCo formed a task force consisting of eight employees from four culturally diverse countries who have not previously met. The task force must work closely together for a month to solve a troublesome customer problem. These employees have similar technical training, but they have different religious beliefs, different languages, and different standards of living. If these employees experience conflict, this conflict might be caused by:
A. task interdependence.
B. differentiation.
C. communication problems.
D. all of these factors.
E. differentiation and communication problems, but not task interdependence
Chapter - Chapter 11 #29 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 30. (p. 304-305)
Two departmental managers are most likely to experience conflict with each other when they _____________ communicate with each other and their two departments have _____________ interdependence.
A. frequently; high
B. seldom; low
C. seldom; high D. frequently; low
E. Communication and interdependence do not affect conflict between departments.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #30 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
31. (p. 304)
The potential for conflict between two employees would be highest under conditions of:
A. pooled interdependence B. total independence C. reciprocal interdependence D. anticipatory interdependence E. sequential interdependence Chapter - Chapter 11 #31 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 32. (p. 305)
In organizational conflict, scarce resources are typically identified as:
A. a source of conflict
B. a form of task interdependence
C. a third-party conflict resolution strategy
D. a form of differentiation
E. scarce resources are unrelated to any part of organizational conflict
Chapter - Chapter 11 #32 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 33. (p. 305)
Communication is a potential source of conflict because:
A. communication leads to misunderstanding.
B. ineffective communication often leads to an escalation in the conflict cycle.
C. perceptions of conflict reduce a person's motivation to communicate in the future.
D. All of the above.
E. ‘B' and ‘C' only. Chapter - Chapter 11 #33 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3 34. (p. 306)
A win-win orientation exists when a person or team believes that:
A. one party necessarily loses if the other gains, so a forcing style should be applied.
B.a combination of all interpersonal styles of conflict management must be applied to reach a mutually beneficial solution.
C. a mutually beneficial solution may be found if both parties apply a collaborative orientation. D. both parties must apply a yielding interpersonal style to resolve the conflict effectively.
E. None of these statements apply to a win-win orientation.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #34 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 35. (p. 306)
Which of the following interpersonal conflict management styles has some degree of win-lose orientation?
A. Forcing
B. Yielding
C. Avoiding
D. All of these have some degree of win-lose orientation. E. None of these has any degree of win-lose orientation.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #35 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
36. (p. 306)
The problem-solving interpersonal style of conflict has:
A. high assertiveness and low cooperativeness
B. high assertiveness and high cooperativeness C. low assertiveness and high cooperativeness
D. low assertiveness and low cooperativeness
E. medium assertiveness and medium cooperativeness
Chapter - Chapter 11 #36 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 37. (p. 306)
Which of the following interpersonal conflict management styles has mostly or completely a win-win orientation?
A. Forcing
B. Yielding
C. Problem-solving D. Avoiding
E. Both yielding and problem solving have mostly or completely a win-win orientation.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #37 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 38. (p. 306)
Which conflict management style has low cooperativeness and low assertiveness?
A. Forcing B. Inquisition C. Compromising D. Arbitration E. Avoiding Chapter - Chapter 11 #38 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 39. (p. 306)
Conflict management styles are defined in terms of their:
A. consequences for the organization.
B. arbitrariness and firmness.
C. assertiveness and cooperativeness. D. differentiation and interdependence.
E. animosity and tolerance.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #39 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 40. (p. 308)
Compared to those with an individualist value, employees with a strong collectivist values tend to manage disagreements through:
A. forcing.
B. third-party conflict resolution.
C. arbitration.
D. avoidance or problem solving. E. compromising and forcing.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #40 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
41. (p. 308)
According to some writers, women tend to adopt the _____________ style, whereas men are more likely to use the _____________ style.
A. forcing; collaborative B. avoiding; compromising C. yielding; forcing D. compromising; forcing E. yielding; avoiding Chapter - Chapter 11 #41 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 42. (p. 307)
Which conflict management style is most appropriate when the parties do not have perfectly opposing interests and have enough trust to share information?
A. Forcing B. Yielding C. Avoiding D. Problem-solving E. Compromising Chapter - Chapter 11 #42 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 43. (p. 307)
Which conflict management style may be necessary when it is apparent that the other party will take advantage of information sharing and other cooperative strategies?
A. Forcing B. Passive-aggressive C. Avoiding D. Problem-solving E. Compromising Chapter - Chapter 11 #43 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 44. (p. 307)
The yielding conflict management style should be used:
A. never.
B. when the issue is much less important to you than to the other party. C. when the other party has much less power than you do.
D. when the issue is important to both parties.
E. under almost all circumstances.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #44 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4 45. (p. 309)
Which of the following actions does NOT emphasize superordinate goals to reduce conflict?
A. Representatives from the two departments must jointly visit a client to hear about its concerns.
B. Hiring employees with a technical specialty and developing their career paths within that specialty. C. Keeping all employees informed of the company's successes and difficulties in the marketplace.
D. Introducing profit sharing or other organizationally based rewards for all employees.
E. The CEO speaks with employees from several departments together about current challenges from competitors.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #45 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 5
46. (p. 309)
Maintenance employees and drivers at ABC Bus Company were constantly bickering with each other. However, the conflict subsided when another bus company opened for business to compete with ABC and ABC executives warned employees that the competitor could force lay-offs at ABC if productivity and customer service didn't improve. Which of the following conflict management strategies was operating here?
A. The company clarified rules and procedures.
B. The company reduced interdependence between the parties.
C. The company reduced differentiation between the parties.
D. The company introduced superordinate goals for both parties. E. The company helped the parties to understand each other better.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #46 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 5 47. (p. 309)
Which of the following actions does NOT reduce conflict between employees and work teams?
A. Reducing the amount of task interdependence.
B. Increasing the resources available.
C. Clarifying the responsibilities and authority of each employee.
D. Encouraging employees to emphasize departmental rather than organizational goals. E. Requiring employees to learn more about each other in special sessions.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #47 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 5 48. (p. 310)
Direct communication minimizes conflict by:
A. reducing task interdependence.
B. reducing reliance on stereotypes about the other party.
C. improving understanding of the other party's circumstances.
D. doing all of these things.
E. reducing reliance on stereotypes AND improving understanding of the other party's circumstances.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #48 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 5 49. (p. 310)
Improving communication and understanding should occur:
A. only after differentiation between the two sides has been reduced. B. before differentiation between the two sides has been reduced.
C. only when the conflicting parties use the compromising conflict resolution style.
D. when task interdependence is low.
E. only when both parties have a win-lose orientation.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #49 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 5 50. (p. 310)
According to your text, compared to those with individualist cultures, employees in collectivist and high power distance cultures tend to be:
A. more comfortable with the practice of resolving differences through direct and open communication.
B. less comfortable with the practice of resolving differences through direct and open communication. C. no more comfortable or uncomfortable with any particular practice of resolving differences.
D. All of the above are correct.
E. there is no evidence to support a cultural dimension with respect to any differences.
Chapter - Chapter 11 #50 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 5
